Course

Mental Disorder and the Law

Faculty
Humanities & Social Sciences
Department
Criminology
Course code
CRIM 4410
Credits
3.00
Semester length
15
Max class size
35
Method(s) of instruction
Lecture
Seminar
Typically offered
To be determined

Overview

Course description
This course focuses on experiences of those with mental disorders in the criminal justice system. Students are introduced to relevant professional disciplines in the Canadian criminal justice and forensic psychiatric systems. The course focuses on criminal process and procedures in place to detain and treat criminally accused, mentally disordered persons. The legal concept of “protection of the public” is examined along with current issues in mental health law. A critical review of legal provisions with regard to the treatment, care, and control of mentally disordered persons from both practical and theoretical perspectives is undertaken.
Course content

1) Historical context of management and treatment of mentally disordered persons

2) Major mental disorders

  • Symptoms and behaviours associated with major mental disorders
  • Criminogenic factors    
  • Mental health experts and the courts

3) Fitness to Stand Trial 

4) Pretrial Issues

  • Police powers
  • Arrest, remand, and bail
  • Court appearances

5) Criminal Responsibility

  • Regulation and process for mental disorder

6) Dispositions and Sentencing

  • Civil commitment
  • Risk assessment
  • Reintegration

7) Canadian Case Law

  • Liberty of the person
  • Protection of public

8) Comparisions to US and European approaches to "not criminally responsible" designations

 

Learning activities
  • Lecture 
  • Quicklaw lab
  • Group discussions
  • Research paper
  • Field trip (e.g. a psychiatric institution, prison or specialized court)
Means of assessment

Formal evaluations in accordance with Douglas College policies will be based on the following:

  1. Midterm and Final Exams
  2. Term Paper
  3. Project/Presentation
  4. Class Participation

 

An example of a possible evaluation scheme would be:

Midterm  25%
Final  25%
Term paper  30%
Group presentation  10%
Participation            10%
Total 100%
Learning outcomes

At the conclusion of the course, the successful student will be able to:

  1. Describe the experiences of mentally disordered persons in the criminal justice system with regard to regulatory structures and process.
  2. Describe the historical legal context in the management of mentally disordered persons.
  3. Illustrate major mental disorders with associated criminogenic factors.
  4. Describe relevant professional disciplines in the Canadian criminal justice and forensic psychiatric systems.
  5. Explain the criminal justice process and procedures in place to detain and treat accused mentally disordered persons.
  6. Explain the legal concept of “the protection of the public” as it relates to risks posed by mentally disordered persons.
  7. Illustrate current legal issues in mental health law.
  8. Compare and contrast the legal standards for "not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder" between Canada and the United States.
  9. Explain mental disorder provisions of the law and institutional procedures (e.g. forensic hospitals) from both the practical procedures and theoretical perspectives.
  10. Research and analyze relevant case law.
Textbook materials

Textbooks and materials will be purchased by students. Examples of text to be used are as follows:

Bloom, H., & Schneider, R. D., (2017). Mental disorder and the law: A primer for legal and mental health professionals. 

Schneider, R.D., Bloom, H., and Law, I., (2013). Law and Mental Disorder: A comprehensive and practical approach. 

Additional course readings, including academic journal articles, relevant case law, legislation and regulations will be assigned as needed.

 

Requisites

Prerequisites

CRIM 1100, CRIM 1150 and CRIM 1160

 

Corequisites

Courses listed here must be completed either prior to or simultaneously with this course:

  • No corequisite courses

Equivalencies

Courses listed here are equivalent to this course and cannot be taken for further credit:

  • No equivalency courses

Course Guidelines

Course Guidelines for previous years are viewable by selecting the version desired. If you took this course and do not see a listing for the starting semester / year of the course, consider the previous version as the applicable version.

(Current)

Course Transfers

These are for current course guidelines only. For a full list of archived courses please see https://www.bctransferguide.ca

Institution Transfer details for CRIM 4410
Capilano University (CAPU) CAPU CRIM 4XX (3)
Langara College (LANG) LANG CRIM 2XXX (3)
Simon Fraser University (SFU) SFU CRIM 3XX (3)
Thompson Rivers University (TRU) TRU CRIM 3XXX (3)
Trinity Western University (TWU) TWU SOCS 4XX (3)
University of Northern BC (UNBC) UNBC SOSC 4XX (3)
University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) UFV CRIM 402 (3)
University of Victoria (UVIC) UVIC SOCI 4XX (1.5)
Vancouver Island University (VIU) VIU CRIM 2nd (3)

Course Offerings

Winter 2025